Method and System for Scavenger Hunt

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a system and computerized method for generating parameters for a game such as a scavenger hunt or other similar game. In an embodiment of the invention, a list of game challenges is generated. A set of predetermined challenges is associated with predetermined game criteria. At least two game criteria are selected from which a set of game challenges that meet the game criteria are identified. From the set of game challenges, a list of selected game challenges is presented to a user. It is desirable that the set of game challenges be large so that the selected game challenges can be varied. For example, if one user selects the set criteria on two different occasions, it is desirable to generate lists of selected game challenges that are different.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the field of customized and automated group games. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for customized automated group scavenger hunt games.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A scavenger hunt is a game in which the organizers prepare a list defining specific items. Participants of the scavenger hunt have as their goal to gather all or as many items on the list, usually without purchasing them. Alternatively, the task can have activities that are to be performed. Participants can be teams or individuals. Confirmation that an item has been found can be by carrying the item to a predetermined location. Confirmation that a task has been performed can be by way of witness confirmation. Alternatively, other forms of confirmation are possible for example through the use of photographs.

A primary goal of a scavenger hunt can be to be the first to complete the list. This can be an objective criterion. In a variation on the game players can also be challenged to complete the tasks on the list in the most creative manner. This can be a subjective criteria.

Modernly, scavenger hunts are held online where players have to find particular information on the web. Scavenger hunts can be played either outdoors (e.g., around town, parks, and back yards) or indoors (e.g. malls, houses, and shops). A variation of a scavenger hunt is sometimes called a treasure hunt where participants follow clues to solve riddles.

The present invention is directed to, among other things, generating parameters for a scavenger hunt. More generally, the present invention is directed to generating parameters for variants of scavenger hunt games.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a system and computerized method for generating parameters for a game such as a scavenger hunt or other similar game. In an embodiment of the invention, a list of game challenges is generated. A set of predetermined challenges is associated with predetermined game criteria. At least two game criteria are selected from which a set of game challenges that meet the game criteria are identified. From the set of game challenges, a list of selected game challenges is presented to a user. It is desirable that the set of game challenges be large so that the selected game challenges can be varied. For example, if one user selects the set criteria on two different occasions, it is desirable to generate lists of selected game challenges that are different.

Game criteria can include game type, playing field, game metric, age level, and difficulty criteria. Other game criteria are also appropriate so long as such game criteria is associated with game challenges.

These and other embodiments can be more fully appreciated upon an understanding of the detailed description of the invention as disclosed below in conjunction with the attached figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings will be used to more fully describe embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system on which the present invention can be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a computer network on which the present invention can be implemented.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an intersection diagram illustrating aspects of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Among other things, the present invention relates to methods, techniques, and algorithms that are intended to be implemented in a digital computer system 100 such as generally shown in FIG. 1. Such a digital computer is well-known in the art and may include the following.

Computer system 100 may include at least one central processing unit 102 but may include many processors or processing cores. Computer system 100 may further include memory 104 in different forms such as RAM, ROM, hard disk, optical drives, and removable drives that may further include drive controllers and other hardware. Auxiliary storage 112 may also be include that can be similar to memory 104 but may be more remotely incorporated such as in a distributed computer system with distributed memory capabilities.

Computer system 100 may further include at least one output device 108 such as a display unit, video hardware, or other peripherals (e.g., printer). At least one input device 106 may also be included in computer system 100 that may include a pointing device (e.g., mouse), a text input device (e.g., keyboard), or touch screen.

Communications interfaces 114 also form an important aspect of computer system 100 especially where computer system 100 is deployed as a distributed computer system. Computer interfaces 114 may include LAN network adapters, WAN network adapters, wireless interfaces, Bluetooth interfaces, modems and other networking interfaces as currently available and as may be developed in the future.

Computer system 100 may further include other components 116 that may be generally available components as well as specially developed components for implementation of the present invention. Importantly, computer system 100 incorporates various data buses 116 that are intended to allow for communication of the various components of computer system 100. Data buses 116 include, for example, input/output buses and bus controllers.

Indeed, the present invention is not limited to computer system 100 as known at the time of the invention. Instead, the present invention is intended to be deployed in future computer systems with more advanced technology that can make use of all aspects of the present invention. It is expected that computer technology will continue to advance but one of ordinary skill in the art will be able to take the present disclosure and implement the described teachings on the more advanced computers or other digital devices such as mobile telephones or “smart” phones as they become available. Moreover, the present invention may be implemented on one or more distributed computers. Still further, the present invention may be implemented in various types of software languages including C, C++, and others. Also, one of ordinary skill in the art is familiar with compiling software source code into executable software that may be stored in various forms and in various media (e.g., magnetic, optical, solid state, etc.). One of ordinary skill in the art is familiar with the use of computers and software languages and, with an understanding of the present disclosure, will be able to implement the present teachings for use on a wide variety of computers.

The present disclosure provides a detailed explanation of the present invention with detailed explanations that allow one of ordinary skill in the art to implement the present invention into a computerized method. Certain of these and other details are not included in the present disclosure so as not to detract from the teachings presented herein but it is understood that one of ordinary skill in the at would be familiar with such details.

In an embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. 2, a computer server that implements certain of the methods of the invention is remotely situated from a user. The computer server 202 is communicatively coupled so as to receive information from a user; likewise, computer server 202 is communicatively coupled so as to send information to a user. In an embodiment of the invention, the user uses a user computing device 204 so as to access computer server 202 via network 206. Network 206 can be the internet, a local network, a private network, a public network, or any other appropriate network as may be appropriate to implement the invention as described herein.

User computing device 204 can be implemented in various forms such as desktop computer 208, laptop computer 210, smart phone 212, or tablet device 214. Other devices that may be developed and are capable of the computing actions described herein are also appropriate for use in conjunction with the present invention.

In the present disclosure, computing and other activities will be described as being conducted on either computer server 202 or user computing device 204. It should be understood, however, that many if not all of such activities may be reassigned from one to the other device while keeping within the present teachings. For example, for certain steps computations that may be described as being performed on computer server 202, a different embodiment may have such computations performed on user computing device 204.

In an embodiment of the invention, computer server 202 is implemented as a web server on which Apache HTTP web server software is run. Computer server 202 can also be implemented in other manners such as a Netscape Communications Corporation web server (known as Oracle iPlanet Web Server). In an embodiment computer server 202 is a UNIX-based machine but can also be implemented in other forms such as a Windows-based machine. Configured as a web server, computer server 202 is configured to serve web pages over a network 206 such as the internet.

In an embodiment, user computing device 204 is configured so as to run web browser software. For example, where user computing device 204 is implemented as a desktop computer 208 or laptop computer 210, currently available web browser software includes Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome. Other browser software is available for different applications of user computing device 204. Still other software is expected to be developed in the future that is able to execute certain steps of the present invention.

In an embodiment, user computing device 204, through the use of appropriate software, queries computer server 202. Responsive to such query, computer server 202 provides information so as to display certain graphics and text on user computing device. In an embodiment, the information provided by computer server 202 is in the form of HTML that can be interpreted by and properly displayed on user computing device 204. Computer server 202 may provide other information that can be interpreted on user computing device.

To be described now is method 300 as shown in FIG. 3 that is an embodiment of the invention for providing unique, challenging, and fun scavenger hunts where certain steps for presenting the structure of the scavenger hunt are performed on computer server 202. For example, the present invention through the use of computer server 202 receives certain information from which a customized scavenger hunt is developed. In such scavenger hunt, participants may be required to find certain object, may be required to perform certain tasks, or photograph certain things. Other types of scavenger hunts may also be developed. In another embodiment of the invention, treasure hunt games are developed. In one type of treasure hunt, participants are required to find and collect certain predetermined items as presented by computer server 202. Other types of treasure hunts may also be developed.

As shown at step 302, computer server 202 receives a request from a user computing device to serve up certain web pages. In an embodiment of the invention, computer server 302 serves up one or multiple web pages requesting certain information from a user.

For example, as shown at step 304, a Game Type request is made. In an embodiment, Game Type includes a Child's Game that is directed to small children, a team-builder game that is directed to groups that seek to use the game of the present invention for building team morale and cohesiveness. Other Game Types can include, for example, a Tame Game that does not require highly daring or challenging activities. Conversely, another Game Type can include a Wild Game that requires highly daring or challenging activities. Game Type can also include a selection of a scavenger hunt or treasure hunt game. Many other variations are available to those of ordinary skill in the art. Responsive to the Game Type selection, the method of the present invention, identifies a predetermined set of game challenges that may be included in a customized game.

At step 306, a Playing Field request is made. The Playing Field of the present invention can take on many real-world or virtual forms. A Playing Field may include, for example, a city, out of town, school campus, or wilderness. The Playing Field can also be a store or mall where players can roam a store or mall to gather identified items. This embodiment lends itself for implementation on a personal computing device such as a smart phone or pad computing devices such as currently available. For example, users could photograph the found items or could scan bar codes or QR codes associated with the identified items. In other embodiments, the Playing Field can be a movie. In this embodiment, the various players of a game follow the scenes of a movie to identify or “virtually” gather the identified items for the game. This embodiment lends itself for implementation on a personal computing device such as a smart phone or pad computing devices such as currently available. An application on such devices could be specifically configured to facilitate virtually gathering the items such as through photographing and tagging the found items. In this embodiment, each player essentially follows the same game path to collect identified items. In still another embodiment of the invention, the Playing Field could be another game such as a multi-player role playing game where, along with meeting the goals of the primary game, a secondary game such as a scavenger hunt can be implemented. In this embodiment, each player can take on different paths. Of course, many more Playing Field options are available as would be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Responsive to the Playing Field selection, the method of the present invention, identifies a predetermined set of game challenges that may be included in a customized game. In an embodiment of the invention, the Playing Field can be preconfigured and controlled playing fields with known parameters and criteria.

At step 308, a Game Metric request is made. A Game Metric can be, for example, a metric by which the success of a game is measured. In an embodiment, Game Metric could be equal points for each challenge. A Game Metric can also be varied but objective predetermined points. Still another Game Metric can be varied but subjective points as may be determined by a predetermined judge or group of judges. In still another embodiment, the judges could be all the other participants in the game. Evaluation of points (also user selectable) could be on a running basis such as the challenges are performed or at a game end basis where the final points are tallied at the end of the game. Responsive to the Game Metric selection, the method of the present invention, identifies a predetermined set of game challenges that may be included in a customized game. Further responsive to the Game Metric selection, the method of the present invention assigns a predetermined value to each item in the predetermined set of game challenges.

At step 310, an Age Level request is made. An Age Level can be, for example, children under 12. Characteristics of children under 12 include that they do not have much mobility and have limited life experiences. Another age level could be Teens that can be targeted at teenage children that may have increased mobility. Many other choices for Age Level are appropriate. The importance of the Age Level criteria is that the games that are developed as part of the present invention are appropriate for the ages of the participants. Responsive to the Age Level selection, the method of the present invention, identifies a predetermined set of game challenges that may be included in a customized game.

At step 312, a Difficulty request is made. A Difficulty request can be, for example, Easy, Intermediate, or Challenging. For highly motivated participants, the Challenging level may be appropriate but for casual participants, the Easy level may be appropriate. Responsive to the Difficulty selection, the method of the present invention, identifies a predetermined set of game challenges that may be included in a customized game.

Many other types of requests for information can be made such as shown in step 314. Responsive to the any other information received responsive to step 314, the method of the present invention identifies a predetermined set of game challenges that may be included in a customized game.

Responsive to the information received for requests 304 through 314, the method of the present invention generates a set of game challenges, Challenge Set, that meets all of the provided information at step 316. At step 318, the method of the present invention, selects a subset, Presented Challenge Set, chosen from the larger Challenge Set that includes the list of challenges that are provided to a user. In an embodiment of the invention, the Presented Challenge Set is presented to a user through a user computing device 204 as shown in FIG. 2.

In an embodiment, the list of challenges is presented as an HTML web page to a user on a user computing device 204. Such user can then distribute the list of challenges to the participants of the game. In another embodiment, the participants are equipped with user computing devices 204 and directly receive the list of challenges. As part of the presented list of challenges, customized rules (sometimes also called challenges) are also presented responsive to the information received according to method 300 of the present invention.

Shown in FIG. 4 is an intersection diagram according to the present invention. Set 400 is the set of all possible challenges available to an implementation of the present invention. Shown as Set_304 is the set of all possible challenges that meet the selected criteria of request 304. Likewise Set_306 is the set of all possible challenges that meet the selected criteria of request 306. Note that the set Set_304 and Set_306 intersect at set 402. Set 402 is, therefore, the set of challenges that are available for a list of challenges for the criteria of steps 304 and 306.

It is, therefore, understood more generally that for responses to each of requests 304-314, there is an available Challenge Set that is the intersection of challenges that meets all the selected criteria. The list of challenges presented to a user, the Presented Challenge Set, is a subset of the Challenge Set. In a preferred embodiment, the Challenge Set includes many more items than the number in the Presented Challenge Set so as to provide unique challenge lists to users that may select the same criteria or a single user that seeks to generate multiple games. In an embodiment of the invention, the Presented Challenge Set is chosen from the Challenge set at random. In another embodiment of the invention, items within the Challenge Set are associated with a weighting parameter that is then used to generate the Presented Challenge Set. Through these and other selection criteria, the occurrence of the items in the Presented Challenge Set can be steered while keeping an element of randomness.

In an embodiment of the invention, the Presented Challenge Set includes a list of 25-100 items. For example, where the game type is a scavenger hunt, the Presented Challenge Set includes a list of 25-100 items to be scavenged. The list can include items to be found such as toys, ticket stubs or other things. The list can also include challenges to be performed. Indeed, the list can include all sorts of activities that together form a fun and challenging game.

For a Presented Challenge Set of 100 items, the Challenge Set is preferably several hundred items and the total set (e.g., set 400 of FIG. 4) on the order of many thousands of items. The present invention, however, can be implemented with fewer items in each set with a resultant effect a more limited variety of total possible Presented Challenge Sets.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the specific embodiments disclosed above may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other game implementations. It should also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that such modifications do not depart from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. 

1. A method for providing a list of game challenges, comprising: associating a set of predetermined game challenges with predetermined game criteria; receiving at least two items of information for at least two game criteria; identifying a set of game challenges that meet the at least two items of information; and generating a subset of game challenges from the set of game challenges.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the game challenges include the finding of predetermined items.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the game challenges include the photographing of predetermined items.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the game challenges include the performance of certain tasks.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the at least two items of information includes game type information.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the at least two items of information includes playing field information.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the at least two items of information includes game metric information.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the at least two items of information includes information about an age range of game participants.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the at least two items of information include a difficulty level.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the at least two items of information include a range of ages of game participants.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the subset of game challenges is chosen at random from the set of game challenges.
 12. A computer system, comprising: memory configured to store information; a communications interface configured to communicate information; and a microprocessor configured to implement the following steps: associating a set of predetermined game challenges with predetermined game criteria; receiving at least two items of information for at least two game criteria; identifying a set of game challenges that meet the at least two items of information; and generating a subset of game challenges from the set of game challenges.
 13. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the game challenges include the finding of predetermined items.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the game challenges include the photographing of predetermined items.
 15. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the game challenges include the performance of certain tasks.
 16. The computer system of claim 12, wherein one of the at least two items of information includes game type information.
 17. The computer system of claim 12, wherein one of the at least two items of information includes playing field information.
 18. The computer system of claim 12, wherein one of the at least two items of information includes game metric information.
 19. The computer system of claim 12, wherein one of the at least two items of information includes information about an age range of game participants.
 20. The computer system of claim 12, wherein one of the at least two items of information include a difficulty level.
 21. The computer system of claim 12, wherein one of the at least two items of information include a range of ages of game participants.
 22. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the subset of game challenges is chosen at random from the set of game challenges. 